Hosea 2:2

Hosea called on his children to act as witnesses against the conduct of their mother. She was not acting like a true wife, so he could not be a true husband to her. Perhaps they had separated. She needed to stop practicing harlotry and adultery.

In the figure Yahweh used, He called on the Israelites to contend with their mother, a figure for the nation as a whole.

"Israel’s one hope is that her own sons should stand up in accusation against her, as Ezekiel was later to do with Judah (cf. chs. 16, 20, 23), rebuking her not for her faults but for her fundamental unfaithfulness." [Note: Ellison, p. 106.]

"Contend" (Heb. rib) often refers to a legal accusation. Yahweh was bringing legal charges against Israel that could stand up in court. The legal charge was not a formal declaration of divorce, however, because He wanted to heal the relationship, not terminate it (cf. Hosea 2:6-7; Hosea 2:14-23). The relationship between Yahweh and Israel was not what it should have been because Israel had become a spiritual harlot. [Note: Cf. D. Kidner, Love to the Loveless: The Message of Hosea, p. 27.] She had stopped worshipping and serving Yahweh exclusively and had worshipped and served other gods. This was spiritual adultery. Under the Mosaic Law, a husband could have his wife stoned for being unfaithful (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22), but this was not God’s intention for Israel.

"Marriage is one of many figures used in Scripture to emphasize the relationship of God to men. This illustration is used in both O.T. and N.T. to picture love, intimacy, privilege, and responsibility. In the O.T., as here in Hosea 2:16-23, Israel is described as the wife of the LORD, though now disowned because of disobedience. Nevertheless eventually, upon repentance, Israel will be restored. This relationship is not to be confounded with that of the Church to Christ (John 3:29). In the mystery of the divine Trinity both are true. The N.T. speaks of the Church as a virgin espoused to one husband (2 Corinthians 11:1-2), which could never be said of an adulterous wife restored in grace. Israel is, then, to be the restored and forgiven wife of the LORD; the Church is the virgin wife of the Lamb (John 3:29; Revelation 19:6-8). Israel will be the LORD’s earthly wife (ch. Hosea 2:23); the Church, the Lamb’s heavenly bride (Revelation 19:7)." [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 920.]